Oct. 20, 2006
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -- Senior Lindley McDavid recorded a match-high 13 kills to lead a balanced offensive attack, as Illinois State swept a visiting Southern Illinois team (30-20, 30-25, 30-19) here at Redbird Arena Friday night. The win completes ISU's season sweep over the Salukis, and marks the 31st consecutive regular-season victory over SIU, dating back to the 1990 season.
With the win, the Redbirds went over the .500 mark overall in the Valley for the first time this season. ISU's record stands at 11-10 (5-5 MVC), while the Salukis dropped to 9-11 (4-6 MVC).
Sophomore Erin Lindsey's passing skills were once again on display, as she recorded a team best 34 assists. Along with McDavid's 13 kills, M.C. Richmond also tallied double-digit kill totals with 10. On the defensive side, ISU had four players with double digit-digs, including senior Jessie Janik, who had a season-best 16 to go along with eight kills.
"We had 17, 16 and 19 kills in the three games, which are very good offensive numbers," said head coach Sharon Dingman. "We were in system all night, and that is a credit to Erin (Lindsey)."
Southern Illinois failed to have anyone reach double digits in kills, including all-Valley selection Johannah Yutzy, who led the Salukis with eight. Sophomore Kristy Elswick was tops on the squad with 22 digs.
"Are defense was great again tonight," Dingman said. "Clearly, Johannah (Yutzy) is the going to be the defensive focus of most teams that play SIU, because she is so talented in the middle. But I thought what helped us in that area is that we served aggressively tonight. If you are going to run your entire offense through the middle, you better be able to ball handle. I thought we exploited them in that area a little bit tonight."
The `Birds took the early 1-0 lead by dominating the Salukis, 30-20, in game one. The two teams sparred to a 4-4 tie in the first game before ISU took the lead for good with a 5-0 run. Illinois State would continue the comfortable advantage throughout the game, before closing out SIU with a 10-5 run. Redshirt freshman setter Jessica Pratapas clinched the match by recording her second career kill. Throughout the game, the Redbirds were led by Janik and McDavid, who each recorded four kills in the game. Lindsey's passing was solid, as she recorded nine assists to five different Redbirds.
The second game proved to be tougher for the `Birds, but the result was the same as ISU held off the Salukis 30-25. The Salukis front line, led by Yutzy's five kills, stayed closer to the `Birds, but with ISU leading 10-8, they went on a 10-4 run to go up 20-12. SIU refused to back down, and tied the match at 22-22 when Kelsie Laughlin recorded an ace. The Redbirds regained the momentum when McDavid's sixth kill started the final 8-3. Kari Staehlin registered the game-winning point with a cross-court kill.
With SIU on the verge of being swept, the Salukis came out on fire, taking a 6-1 lead in the decisive third game. With the Redbirds needing to stem the tide, Staehlin hammered down the first of her three kills in game three to reignite the offense. The `Birds outscored SIU 15-6 after Staehlin's kill to take the 17-12 lead that they never relinquished. The Redbirds completed the sweep with a 30-19 victory when freshman Peggy Riessen hit a Pratapas set cross-court for the game's final kill.
The Redbirds return to action at Redbird Arena on Sunday at 2 p.m. when they look avenge their first-ever loss to Evansville back on Sept. 22.
"Sunday is going to be huge, but we are going to have to pass better to beat a very experienced Evansville team," Dingman said. "We want to create a little bit of separation between ourselves and these two teams, and keep positioning ourselves at making a run at the regular season Valley title. There is still a lot of volleyball to be played."
